Catryna Bilyk (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Seven years ago, I was proud to push for the establishment of the Senate Select Committee into Funding for Research into Cancers with Low Survival Rates, and I was also appointed chair of the committee for the duration of its one inquiry, the report of which was tabled in November 2017. This is a wide-ranging inquiry which covered many aspects of cancer research, treatment and patient care. After receiving 326 submissions and hearing from 117 witnesses in seven days of public hearings, the inquiry produced a range of recommendations covering matters such as streamlining annual approval processes for treatments, improving patient data and tissue sample collection, boosting research funding for new treatments, improving patient care and support, and improving patient access to clinical trials.

Among the matters on which evidence was heard by the committee was an exciting and emerging field of research called genomic medicine. As the committee heard, cancers used to be treated primarily according to where they occur in the body—for example, brain, lung, bowel or pancreas. However, genetic testing of cancers has revealed that cancers found in one area of the body are not just one disease but a group of diseases with different characteristics and treatments. Genomic medicine presents new possibilities for precision or personalised medicine which has the greatest impact in advancing the treatment of rare and low-survival cancers. This opens many exciting possibilities for the treatment of cancer and has the potential to dramatically improve prospects for the survival of cancer patients.

To help realise these possibilities, the Albanese government is establishing a new national body called Genomics Australia. Genomics Australia will provide leadership, coordination and expertise so that the benefits of cutting-edge genomic research and technologies can be available to all Australians. We, the Labor Party, have committed ongoing funding for Genomics Australia, including $30 million for its first four years of operation. Its focus will be on turning significant breakthroughs into treatments, with one of its first priorities being to improve access to personalised cancer care. Genomics Australia will work with the states and territories to implement an updated National Health Genomics Policy Framework, and it will be led by a commissioner who will provide expert advice to government on health genomics. The commissioner will be supported by expert advisory committees comprising researchers, clinicians, industry, consumers and First Nations people. The model for Genomics Australia has been informed by advice from experts and has also had input from the states and territories. The establishment of Genomics Australia will put Australia on the cutting edge of genomic research and development, making us a world leader in this exciting new field of medicine.

During my more than 16 years as a senator, I've been a strong advocate for improving cancer research, as well as cancer patient treatment and care, especially as it relates to rare cancers and cancers with low survival rates. This advocacy has led me to meet people from all walks of life, not just researchers and clinicians but cancer patients and their families and carers. I've met them in meetings with peak bodies such as Cure Brain Cancer Foundation and Neuroblastoma Australia, I've met them at the fundraising events I've organised and I've met them at events in parliament and at public hearings for inquiries. The most confronting of these meetings was with parents fighting for the survival of their children or with parents who have already fought and lost that battle. I've heard their stories and their aspirations for the future, and what they want for the future is hope. This morning was the Australian Brain Tumour Collaborative second annual Head to the Hill event, and at this event this desire for hope was echoed loud and clear.

I want to thank colleagues in this place and in the House who took the time to drop in at Head to the Hill and to speak to brain cancer and tumour patients and their families. You would have seen the pairs of shoes strewn across the lawn, representing the more than 1,400 Australians who have died of brain tumours just in the last year. This is who we are fighting for. Genomic medicine is not a silver bullet for cancer treatment, but it is a vital new weapon in our arsenal in the fight against cancer. If we're going to boost Australia's genomic medicine capability, we need leadership. Australian Genomics will provide that leadership and help drive advances in diagnosis, treatment and health outcomes for all Australians.